2.02.2016

Ty Segall

So Segall ropes in a huge crew of ringers on his latest collection, Kyle Thomas (King Tuff), Mikal Cronin, Emmett Kelley (The Cairo Gang), Charles Moothart (Meatbodies), Cory Hanson & Evan Burrows of Wand and Melvins Drummer Dale Crover, each one a holding a record nerd's pedigree in their own right; and together they make exactly the kind of case study in explosive, yet powerful rock that you might think that they'd unearth. What's maybe missing, is perhaps any of that polish that found its way to the forefront of Ty's last record. Here he's going for a barbed wire aura that puts listeners on their haunches from the get go, grinding through the dirt rather than working to nod heads and let the teens bop. The cast of characters on display are torn from some similar territory from past releases, all matter of loners and speckled creepers, but now it seems that the disconnection they inspire is intentional and perhaps crucial, as the core of his "emotional mugging" stems from the electronic barriers of social feeds and the constant filter of glowing screens.
The first half of the record cuts the flesh and licks a few wounds, barreling through Television, Beefheart and Voidoids machinations if they were blown through the filter of Chrome and throttled a few turns in the vice of MX-80. The second half opens up its scope, though its still got an evil hangover of guitar gnash that keeps it at arm's length from the glittered pop of Manipulator.
This is one for the true grit, those who've come as much for the hooks as for the blown cone ethos. In a way, this whole album reminds me of one of Segall's greatest tracks, "My Sunshine," a shot over two minutes of melted wire fury with a caramel center of melody that makes it uncomfortable in its own skin while still making you smile every time. Who knows if this mask will stay on long, but for now this is an enjoyable bit of squirm from one of the modern masters of string wrangled fury.